What once housed grain now houses world-class art. In the port of Kristiansand, an old silo has become one of contemporary times' most prominent museums. Come along Voyage at a viewing of Kunstsilo, where we gaze up into the monumental silos, enjoy the collections and the current Munch exhibition.

Kristiansand, which lies In Sørlandet, Norway's southernmost region, is a popular summer town, and now also the location of the world's most beautiful museum – something that draws visitors all year round. When we land, we do so in a headwind.
Propellerplanet hovers freely for a moment before we touch down. The wind is biting, and even though the temperature is only minus three, the weather app on my mobile shows: ”Feels like minus 20”So perhaps it's not winter after all"
season here. Our goal is to visit Kunstsilo and attend the opening of Edvard Munch's portrait exhibition, an exhibition that was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London last spring. But first, a tour of Kunstsilo museum itself awaits, located on the Odderøya peninsula – directly adjacent to the city's cultural centre and next door to Kilden Performing Arts Centre. The original grain silo was completed in 1935.

EXHIBITIONS AT THE ART SILO
The permanent opening exhibition, Passions of the North, showcases around 600 works spanning
Painting, sculpture and photography. The exhibition Edvard Munch – Portraits runs until 10 May.
www.kunstsilo.no

Its purpose was to secure the storage of imported grain. At this time, Kristiansand was an important import harbour for grain from, among others, the USA, Argentina and Russia. The new silo had 15 cells and could store up to around 15,000 tonnes of grain – and became a central part of the country's food supply. The architect responsible was Arne Korsmo, known as a prominent representative of Norwegian Functionalism. He was strongly inspired by modernist ideas and by architects such as Le Corbusier, where the central ideal was the interplay between form and
function.

– It was precisely functionalism and its ideals that led many prominent architects at this time to take on industrial buildings. It was prestigious to be asked, our guide recounts as we step inside. We are standing at the bottom, looking up into the now empty cells. A film is projected onto the wall, showing how the silo took shape. The cylindrical cells emerged, and the building became both stripped-down and sculptural. Concrete for the sake of its contents. Contemporary critics described it as a kind of ”Greek temple in modern times”where proportions and simplicity created an unexpected beauty in an industrial building. The silo originally consisted of 15 cylindrical cells, later expanded to 30, where the grain was stored. The concrete was cast using so-called slipforming, which made the construction unusually strong and cohesive. As early as 1939, the building was awarded the prestigious architecture prize Houens fonds diplom. The following year, German forces marched in and took control of the city. For more than 70 years, the facility was used for grain handling before operations ceased in 2008. After that, the building stood empty for a long time and was threatened with demolition. In 2006, Kristiansand Municipality decided that the silo should be preserved and given a new function as a cultural institution – a decision that would change the entire area around the harbour.
The conversion into an art museum became a project of international acclaim. In an architectural competition with 101 submissions, the winning firms Mestres Wåge Arquitectes and MX_SI Architectural Studio were selected. Their vision was to preserve the silos' unique design language while opening up the industrial structure into a new, sculptural space for art.

During the refurbishment, parts of the massive concrete cells were removed. Over 350 tonnes The concrete was removed, and today the temple-like feel is palpable even on the inside. Looking up into these cells today is magical. With the Tangen Collection – the world's largest collection of Nordic modernism – there are always works to display. Added to this are international touring exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and creative events – all with the ambition to develop the modern museum's role as an open and vibrant cultural arena. Right now, the exhibition Edvard Munch – Portraits is what draws us here. We take the spiral staircase up for a preview with Alison Smith, who helped curate the exhibition. She was also responsible for the exhibition in London. Here, we now follow through four rooms Munch artist's journey through the people he portrayed. From his sister in her white dress by the fence, to friends, colleagues and patrons, on to the wealthy of the intellectual bourgeoisie, muses and other characters. The Scream is not present here, and Alison Smith explains why:
– We have chosen to focus on the people he portrayed. In this way, we tell a different story. One can only agree. We get the emotions anyway. From the tentative lines, to the work with shadows in more modest formats, onwards
to the larger paintings where the brushstrokes are quick and obvious. It's also possible to discern which models he preferred – and didn't. Here is the portrait of Ernest Thiel, who became so angry about it that he slammed his brush against the
He played and never really finished.

His style was not always in demand, and for example Strindberg was not at all pleased with his portrait. He felt he was depicted too simply. Graphic prints and pencil drawings are also found here. The lines weave into each other – stroke by stroke, mark by mark. I like the arrangement, and the feeling is completely different to what you get if you visit the Munch Museum in Oslo. It could have hung here for a long time if it were up to me. However, the artworks are on loan, and therefore the time they can be spared is limited. But I really like this version of the exhibition, says Alison Smith before she moves on to speak with the Norwegian TV channel NRK. The vernissage is well-attended. Tickets are sold out. The local audience is large, and Munch is given prominence. We finish with a glass of crémant up in the Panoram bar. Here we are treated to a fantastic view, which summarises what Kunstsilo is today – a cultural temple where history remains in the cells – but where
The gaze is constantly directed forward.

OM PRIX VERSAILLES
Since 2015, the Prix Versailles has been presented annually in collaboration with UNESCO, recognising the world's foremost contemporary architectural projects. The awards reward innovation, creativity, respect for local heritage, and ecological and social sustainability, with each project's environmental, social, and cultural impact being assessed in its entirety.